Stem cells as hope for healing Alzheimer's disease

Prof. Dr. Frank Edenhofer (Spokesman of the Life & Health Science Cluster Tirol) in an ORF interview

 

About 11,000 people in Tirol suffer from dementia, most of them with Alzheimer's disease. So far, research has not found an effective remedy for Alzheimer's disease.

 

The scientists in Tyrol cooperate closely within the Tyrol Life & Health Science Cluster, because dementia is a broad and complex research field and it requires the expertise of many disciplines.

For the analysis of the disease at the level of cells and molecules, biological foundations are required, which are then followed by pharmacology and medicine in order to investigate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The assessment of the socio-economic consequences is also of great importance, since care costs and other costs in the health system must be taken into account for this disease.

 

Thanks to the close networking of the scientists in the Life & Health Science Cluster Tirol, such questions can be asked and discussed together, applications prepared and joint research carried out.

 

Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Innsbruck have managed to produce brain stem cells from blood cells. This increases the hope of possible healing through the use of stem cells.

 

Prof. Dr. Frank Edenhofer explains that re-programmed stem cells are used to better understand the processes and mechanisms and thus to better analyze the disease. Hope is increasing that medication could also be tested in the near future.

 

You can find more information on this topic in the ORF interview article.